Letter Re: Freeze Drier

During the time that you evaluated the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer, did you happen to monitor the power consumption?

As an off-grid type, voltage, amperage, power factor, and total watts per freeze dry cycle are critical to determine if my available power can support this unit. Also, the length of the full freeze dry cycle is important. Thanks – Roy G.

HJL Responds: After evaluating the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer for three months, I found myself very reluctant to send it back. About the time I was mentally figuring ways to extend the evaluation, I decided it was just time to purchase the unit. Since that time, it has run pretty much non-stop. The unit has been a significant factor in shifting our preps more towards freeze-dried foods and less towards frozen foods, especially in the vegetable department. The freezers now tend to be a holding environment for foods until they can be run through the machine. I am not sure it is suited towards off-grid production as-is, though that may be something that would be worth discussing with the company itself. The compressor for the freezer is fairly miserly in its power consumption, but the vacuum motor is a 1HP motor running continuously. On a monthly basis, I do see the impact on the power bill. I have been running the machine pretty much continuously, but on average you can figure about 72 hours per one gallon of water extracted. Foods such as potatoes have a higher water content than mushrooms, and raw foods have a higher water content than cooked foods.

As delivered, the unit is designed to work with standard house voltage, and there is not much you can do with the sealed compressor. However, the vacuum pump is an off-the-shelf unit designed for industrial automotive A/C; you might find an alt-power source for that. I would suggest a call to the company itself, as they were very responsive to my calls as well as to everyone who I know has spoken with them.

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James Wesley Rawles

James Wesley, Rawles (JWR) is Founder and Senior Editor of SurvivalBlog, the original prepping /survival blog for when the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF). He began SurvivalBlog in 2005. It now reaches more than 320,000 unique visitors weekly.
JWR is a journalist, technical writer, and novelist. His survivalist novel Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, is a modern classic that reached #3 on the New York Times bestsellers list. Two of his other novels have also been best New York Times bestsellers.
Jim is the originator of the American Redoubt movement and a frequent talk show guest on shows such as Alex Jones. He is also a retreat consultant specializing in off-grid living, rural relocation, and survival preparedness.

Hugh James Latimer

Hugh James Latimer (HJL) is the Managing Editor of SurvivalBlog, the original blog for prepping and survival for when SHTF, where he manages the blog's day-to-day operations, applying his diverse technical, management, and editorial expertise.
HJL earned college degrees in engineering, metallurgy, and education and has worked as Technical Editor for five international technical journals and as an engineer for Sandia National Laboratories. His deep scientific background ranges from aerospace engineering to systems administration and owning his own technology-intensive business.
HJL is a firefighter/EMT, and Ham radio operator. He's a Libertarian, an Eagle Scout, and most importantly a devoted follower of Jesus and the Bible.

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